Have you ever thought why people fall in love with the opposite sex? Why some people get attracted more often than others? What is the logic behind this attraction? Why you fantasize some people and find them sexually irresistible? What makes your heart beat faster by just thinking of someone?

Well, to sum up, we usually name it as love or attraction. It is described as the beautiful emotion that gives you the feeling of butterflies in your stomach.

But do you know that there is a science behind this feeling of love and attraction? Love isn’t just a feeling but its lot more than that. There are chemicals, neurons, and hormones in your body that combine together to make you fall in love. So, basically love or attraction is a kind of tempting trap that is set up by nature which we cannot resist.

As per the research by Arthur Arun, a person usually takes between 90 seconds to four minutes to decide whether he/she like someone or not.

The highlights discussed in the above study are:

It is your brain that plays 55% role in detecting your body movements and deciding the liking for someone.

38% of the role is played by your voice and its tone in determining if its love or not.

And the remaining 7% depends on the partner’s words.

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According to Helen Fisher, the famous anthropology professor, there are total three stages involved in the process that will make you fall in love- lust, attraction & attachment. Each stage involves several reactions by chemicals and hormones situated in our body to trigger all the three stages either separately or collectively.

Stage 1:

LUST: This is the foremost stage in the science of love. In this stage, you feel sexually attracted to the opposite sex. People start fantasizing about their partner in this stage. The sexual hormones that are present in both men and women and are responsible for lust are testosterone and estrogen.

These two hormones trigger the feeling of lust inside the brain. When the levels of sex hormones rise they push you to look out for the appropriate mate to fulfill the sexual needs.

Stage 2:

ATTRACTION: This is the stage when you truly feel love and crave for your partner attention. You don’t feel like eating and find yourself lost in the thoughts of your partner. You feel excited and dream about the things you will do together. This phase is responsible for the best moments of your life.

As per scientists, there are three sub-stages of attraction namely, adrenaline, dopamine & serotonin that cause these beautiful feelings inside humans.

Adrenaline: This is the initial stage when you start liking someone and this neurotransmitter activates the following things in you:

Stress response

Increasing the levels of adrenalin and cortisol

It is also responsible for your increased heart beats when you bump into special someone

Dopamine: As per Helen Fisher, the newly found love couples have high levels of dopamine chemical. This chemical is responsible for triggering pleasurable feelings and has the same effect on the brain as taking drugs. Increased levels of dopamine result in reward or desire and motivate you to be with your loved one or even fantasize about them if they are not around. It also stimulates novelty; you will feel energized and exciting all the time.

Serotonin: It is considered as one of the vital chemicals involved in triggering the feeling of love. It lets you think about your lover all the time and nothing else. It basically diverts your mind from everything else but your partner.

Stage 3:

ATTACHMENT: The last but not the least stage of love. It is the stage that keeps the couples together & is very much needed for a successful relationship. In this phase, people may move in together, have children or get married, hence make their bond stronger. Attachment stage consists of two major hormones namely, oxytocin and vasopressin.

Oxytocin: It is also known as the cuddle hormone and is the strongest hormone that is released during orgasm, at the time of childbirth and breast feeding. This hormone brings the couples closer and deepens their feelings after they had sex. It strengthens the bond between the mother and the child during childbirth. Moreover, it helps in releasing the milk from the breast just by the touch or sound of the baby.

Vasopressin: This hormone release in the commitment stage, right after the sex. It is also known as anti-diuretic and is responsible for controlling the thirst by working with your kidneys. As per studies, the suppression of vasopressin can cause males to lose their love interest and seek new partners.

Well, as you can see, there is an entire chemical process that takes place in your body when you fall in love. But that doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy this beautiful feeling. Because in the end, all that matters is the love that you feel in your heart.